Dorothea Dix Hospital is once again set to close.
Lanier Cansler, the state secretary of Health and Human Services, said today he expects the Raleigh mental hospital to shut its doors by the end of the year, reports Michael Biesecker.
Dix, the first institution of its kind in North Carolina, has been in continuous operation since 1856.
"For the current fiscal year, no funds were appropriated by the General Assembly for Dorothea Dix Hospital, and we have been forced to make some very difficult decisions to address this shortfall," Cansler wrote in a memo sent to Dix staff.
All remaining patient services at Dix will be relocated to Central Regional Hospital in Butner and Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro, he said.
State administrators have been working to close Dix for years. The aging facility was set to close in 2008, but a lawsuit over safety concerns with the newly constructed state hospital in Butner led a judge to block the shutdown. There have also been extensive problems with patient abuse and neglect at Cherry in Goldsboro.
But the legal injunction barring Dix's closure was lifted last year, and administrators have slowly been moving patients from the Raleigh facility to the other hospitals for months.
In his letter, Cansler lauded the "outstanding care and treatment" the staff at Dix has provided in what he termed an uncertain time. He urged those losing their jobs to seek new positions at the hospital in Butner, about a 45 minute drive to the north.
Further details about the closure plans for Dix will be announced in the coming days, Cansler said.
UPDATE: DHHS says some services will remain on the Dix campus under the direction of Central Regional Hospital, including 24 forensic beds and a child outpatient clinic.
Comments
Very concerning
September 11, 2010 - 1:34am — cassandramhMany people are worried about the closure of Dix, especially with all the rumors swirling about. It's been said that while Central Regional Hospital is to have sixty additional admissions beds, they really only have the space for 35. And even if both hospitals manage to fit in Central Regional, emergency rooms all over the region will still be packed - both Central Regional and Dorothea Dix are frequently on delay to accept new admissions because there just aren't enough beds now. A lot of this is due to the push to have services provided in the community that just aren't there, either due to lack of providers, an unwillingness of providers to work with difficult patient populations, and lack of funding to address specific patient needs.
The closure of Dix is very concerning not just for patients, but the staff as well. People are being told they will have jobs in Butner, but that they may be in a lower pay grade or lesser position. And if someone refuses the lower pay grade/position, they lose Reduction in Force (RIF) rights as well. There's already been rumblings about lack of space for staff, and that some people may need to have offices in the old John Umstead Hospital - the same building the Childrens' Unit had to be moved out of because of mold issues. And again, does this mean someone would have to drive between two campuses to accomplish work? How productive would that be?
Dorothea Dix to close
August 24, 2010 - 7:11pm — taylorIt is sad to see Dix closing because it means that Raleigh has no source of easy access for those needing mental health or drug addiction care. Local hospitals must gear up to meet the workload, and patients will need to be transported to the Butner area, about 40 minutes away during off rush hour times.
This kind of benign neglect is not what we would expect of the Capital City of the great state of North Carolina. When the powers that be finally take possession of the Dix property, which is so majestic and lovely on a hill overlooking downtown Raleigh, it will be put to good use, but none as vital as the caring for the "least among us" that the site has so nobly carried out for well over a hundred years.
This regrettable change of venue for our mentally challenged community is a prime example of some people knowing the price of everything, but the value of nothing.
Charles Malone
www.charlesmalonencsenate.com